Global News - August 2007

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Specials tunnels 'will help rare salamander breed'

Tue 28 August 2007 17:00 UK — North America

The federal parks agency in Canada is to build a series of tunnels to help rare amphibians cross a dangerous stretch of road.

Experts hope that the £18,882 project will mean that fewer long-toed salamanders are killed by cars as they migrate to the lake where they breed.

Currently, the salamanders have to cross a 600-metre stretch of road in the Waterton Lakes National Park in Southern Alberta, Canada.

As the amphibians only breed at night when it is raining, they are often killed crossing the road. However, park authorities believe that the four tunnels will help the creatures safely get to their breeding grounds.

Cyndi Smith, a Parks Canada conservation biologist, told Reuters: "They're not grizzly bears or big elk or anything like that, but they're still a species that's important to the ecosystem."

Currently, the difficulties associated with breeding means that only around 1,000 long-toed salamanders exist in the area.

A sub species of the amphibian, the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, is extremely rare and is only found in a few isolated ponds in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County in California.

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